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Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is attracting interest from Manchester City ahead of the expiry of his contract, The Daily Mail reports.

The lowdown

United’s interim manager Ralf Rangnick said last month that Pogba is likely to leave the club at the end of the season.

According to The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell, the Red Devils offered the Frenchman a £400,000-per-week deal last summer, but he left it ‘sitting there’.

In addition to City, Pogba’s former club Juventus and Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain are also thought to be keen.

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The latest

Journalists Mike Keegan and Sami Mokbel write that City are exploring the possibility of signing Pogba ahead of his impending free agency.

Keegan said on Twitter it would be an ‘explosive’ move between the two local rivals.

The Frenchman features on Guardiola’s list of candidates as he looks to add another ‘versatile central midfielder’ to his ranks.

Pogba would at least ‘consider the option’ of making the move to The Etihad despite his current allegiance to United.

While clubs abroad have been able to negotiate with Pogba since January, City can’t table a formal offer until the end of the season.

The verdict

Is there a precedent for cross-Manchester moves? Perhaps the highest profile recent example is Carlos Tevez’s switch to City in 2009.

Tevez had spent two seasons on loan at United but turned down the offer of a permanent deal at Old Trafford and instead joined Mark Hughes’ side.

Pogba is already a divisive figure at the club, with some supporters booing him as he was substituted against Norwich City last month.

And he can expect an almighty, unanimous backlash if, after eight years and two spells at United, he agreed to play for City.

In other news, Manchester United have made contact with this Bundesliga star. 

Monaco are prepared to cash in on midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, who is one of Liverpool’s main summer transfer targets, according to a fresh update.

The Lowdown: Tchouameni links galore

The Reds haven’t signed a massive number of players in recent years but those who have come in have generally made a huge impact, such as Thiago and Luis Diaz.

Tchouameni is being hotly tipped to move to Anfield this summer, having emerged as a hugely exciting prospect for Monaco and France.

The midfielder has caught the eye with his dominant all-round displays, averaging 2.9 interceptions, 2.5 tackles and 2.3 successful aerial duels per game and also scoring three Ligue 1 goals this season.

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The Latest: Monaco could cash in on Tchouameni

According to Football Insider, a requirement source has informed them that Tchouameni is one of Liverpool’s main transfer targets in the summer window, with the Reds having registered their interest in the 22-year-old.

Monaco are ‘ready to cash in’ at the end of the season, with a fee of ‘over £50million’ enough to prise him away from the Stade Louis II.

The Verdict: Enormous prospect

It really does look as though Liverpool are pushing hard to sign the 22-year-old, with Jurgen Klopp clearly seeing midfield as an area where reinforcements are required.

Fulham youngster Fabio Carvalho is already coming in and, if the Reds can land him from Monaco, Tchouameni could prove to be one of the most exciting pieces of business in years, adding an extra dimension in the middle of the park.

He has been hailed as ‘extraordinary’ by France team-mate Paul Pogba, and as the aforementioned statistics suggest, he seems to possess the technical brilliance and brute physical strength to take the Premier League by storm.

In other news, James Pearce has dropped a Liverpool transfer claim. Read more here.

Jurgen Klopp has delivered an injury update on Liverpool defender Joe Gomez after a ‘real shock’ injury scare during the Reds’ Premier League clash against Southampton on Tuesday night.

The Lowdown: Gomez injury concerns

The 24-year-old was forced off the pitch in the 2-1 victory over the Saints after sustaining a knock following a coming together with Nathan Tella, and ended up limping down the tunnel before being replaced by captain Jordan Henderson at the break.

After the game had finished, the centre-back was seen getting onto the team bus on crutches whilst wearing a protective boot, as the club will have to face an anxious wait to see whether or not Gomez will be available for selection for the upcoming Champions League final against Real Madrid on May 28th.

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The Latest: Scan brings good news

Speaking during his post-match press conference to the media, however, the German boss played down the severity of the 11-cap international’s injury and confirmed that the colossus was in high spirits after having a conversation with him in the dressing room. As quoted by the club’s official website, Klopp revealed:

“I hope we are lucky. Joe himself has pain but not too much.

“He got, one time, a real shock to the system, but he is sitting in the dressing room and when I spoke to him he was in a good mood. I think maybe we were probably lucky but we have to figure that out.”

Paul Joyce of the The Times has since added to the optimism, revealing a scan was required but showed no serious damage and there is hope he will be fine for the trip to Paris.

The Verdict: Hopefully fit in time to face Madrid

With other members of the Liverpool starting XI – including Virgil Van Dijk, Fabinho, and Mohamed Salah – all suffering their own setbacks over the last week, the 54-year-old will most certainly be hoping that Gomez is declared fully fit ahead of the highly anticipated final vs Madrid at the end of the month, just in case van Dijk in particular suffers a setback.

Despite only making eight appearances in the top-flight this season, the £19.8m-rated Gomez has still had a hugely positive impact when he has been on the pitch, where he’s averaged 1.3 tackles and 1.1 long balls per game, as well as winning 1.3 of his aerial duels, via WhoScored.

Coming up against the likes of Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior will be far from easy, so the Reds will need all of their defensive backline experience accessible to them when they face Carlo Ancelotti’s side if they want any chance of getting their hands on that Champions League trophy.

In other news… Fabrizio Romano has delivered a huge transfer update involving one of Liverpool’s senior players.

Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly decided to do a U-turn and not chase the signature of Juventus forward Paulo Dybala this summer, report Football.London.

The Lowdown: Dybala confirms Juventus exit

The 28-year-old first joined the Italian giants from Palermo back in 2015, but after making 292 senior appearances in that time, the striker recently confirmed that he would be leaving the Serie A outfit following the conclusion of the current season after a seven-year spell in Turin.

The Lilywhites previously attempted to bring Dybala to the Premier League in 2019 when former manager Mauricio Pochettino was in charge, but failed to get a deal over the line in time due to image rights issues.

As the 32-cap international will be available on a free transfer during the upcoming window, he has been strongly linked with a move to Spurs once again, but after a fresh update, it would appear as though that’s off the table.

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The Latest: Spurs end interest

In a huge update published by Football.London, the reliable Alasdair Gold reports that Tottenham are ‘not considering’ entering the race for Dybala as a result of Fabio Paratici not being ‘wholly convinced’ that their old target is the ‘right fit’.

The source further states that the director of football was a member of the hierarchy who tried to move Dybala on during his time working at Juventus, so it seems like Paratici has never been a big fan of the player.

The Verdict: A missed opportunity

Taking up the option not to pursue the £222k-per-week star, especially as someone who’s about to become a free agent, is surely a missed opportunity to seal an absolute bargain at N17.

The Argentine, labelled a ‘world class’ superstar by former Spurs man Paul Robinson, has made 21 goal contributions in just 38 outings across all competitions for Massimiliano Allegri’s side this season, as per Transfermarkt, and it’s hard to see why Antonio Conte wouldn’t want this type of prolific player in his starting XI.

Dybala would be the perfect candidate to provide some serious goalscoring competition for Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, but it looks as though the club have already made up their minds and will no doubt now be starting the hunt to find their new deputy for Kane.

In other news… a Spurs insider has dropped a huge transfer twist surrounding a first-team colossus.

Captain feels they have the ‘better spin-bowling contingent’ than opponents South Africa ahead of the limited-overs series

Andrew Fidel Fernando01-Sep-2021South Africa have some great quicks, but on Khettarama’s surfaces, Sri Lanka’s batters need not fear them. Not only this, said Sri Lanka’s captain Dasun Shanaka, but the hosts also have a better spin attack, and as such, should be targeting a 3-0 series sweep.South Africa are missing fast bowler Lungi Ngidi on this tour, and no longer have Imran Tahir, who would often torment Sri Lanka in the format. But these were nevertheless bold words from Shanaka, whose team has comfortably lost all four ODI series they have played this year.Related

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But if it is confidence that will turn Sri Lanka’s ODI game around, Shanaka felt his team has plenty, on the eve of the first ODI. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sri Lanka are banking on spin.”I think we have the winning momentum [following two T20I wins against India], and feel that if our spinners can get a lot of wickets, we should be able to win,” Shanaka said. “We have a lot of advantages in this series.”We have a lot of options on the spin front. We’ve got Wanindu Hasaranga (legspin), Akila Dananjaya (allsorts), Maheesh Theekshana (offspin), Ramesh Mendis (offspin), Praveen Jayawickrama (left-arm spin), and other options as well. They’re all in a good rhythm. I’m looking to play three spinners in the team. South Africa always have a good pace attack. But I think I can guarantee that we have the better spin-bowling contingent at the moment. I trust our team’s strength.”Sri Lanka should perhaps be especially wary of Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada – South Africa’s quickest bowlers, who have each had success against Sri Lanka before. Shanaka, though, believed the Khettarama surface would neutralise them.”They’ve got two very good fast bowlers in Rabada and Nortje, but in our conditions, we’re hoping they won’t be able to be as effective, because the pitches will be slow.”Just because they are fast bowlers, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are the best. You’ve also got to think about swing. I hope our batters can play them well. If we can bat out the first 10 overs without losing wickets, that’s a big advantage. I think we can do that.”Sri Lanka are desperate for ODI Super League points, having won only two of their 11 completed matches this year, leaving them down at 11th on the Super League table. Shanaka said his team was aiming for a 3-0 sweep to correct that.”If we win these three matches, we can rise to fifth on the table. I’m confident we can do well and hope it will boost our chances for the World Cup.”

Warks resistance ends quickly after Rob Yates falls on final morning

David Hopps08-Sep-2021Hampshire 89 (Rhodes 5-23) and 322 (Barker 75, Norwell 4-72) beat Warwickshire 116 (Abbas 5-29, Norwell 5-43) and 235 (Yates 77, Dawson 3-42) by 60 runsThree days after being dismissed for 89, Hampshire pulled off a notable victory when they overcame Warwickshire’s steadfast batting resistance by 60 runs on another stifling day at Edgbaston. Warwickshire extended their safety-first attempts to chase 296 into a second day, but they never found the match-winning innings they needed and when the end came, it came quickly.There is minimal leeway in this four-match climax to the Championship. Hampshire briefly moved level with Yorkshire at the top of the table – aware that both would lose that place once the result of Nottinghamshire’s clash with Lancashire was known. As for Warwickshire, they remain in touch in a Division where only Somerset appear to be virtually out of contention.Mark Robinson, Warwickshire’s coach, said: ”We have won those games before. Four of our games have gone to Day 4 and we’ve come out the right side of them, and today we haven’t. That happens. All I can ask is that we put ourselves in positions that we can win games, and we did do that.”Warwickshire felt slight favourites at breakfast with the expectation that Mohammad Abbas would not bowl because of an ankle injury. But Abbas was patched up and sent into the fray and, although down on pace and prone to considerable limping, summoned the wholehearted bowling effort that has been a feature of his seasons on the county circuit.Warwickshire had logged 139 for 2 overnight, at roughly two an over, and that pedestrian rate of scoring continued. The pitch, although slightly livelier than the previous day, still inhibited a more enterprising approach – and what the pitch did not discourage, the situation did. It would have been a courageous batter who dared to abandon Warwickshire’s grind-it-out policy after it had kept them in touch with victory for so long.The second new ball was 13 overs away when Warwickshire resumed, but by the time James Vince took it, two overs late, they had lost Rob Yates in adding another 28. Yates, 70 not out overnight, managed another seven before James Fuller brought one back sharply from around the wicket. Fuller found life where previously none was thought to exist and another ball evaded both Will Rhodes and the stand-in keeper, Tom Also, to scoot for four byes.Related

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As Vince briefly delayed the new ball to give Fuller another over, the left-arm spinner, Liam Dawson also twice came close to having Rhodes caught at short leg off successive deliveries. But Dawson was to play a surprisingly minor role as Abbas’ big-hearted effort began to take effect. He limped back to his mark, ran tenderly to the crease and, as the ball came down at not much more than 70mph, hopped a little in his follow-through.But Abbas’ skill has always been self-evident. His two new-ball wickets edged the match in Hampshire’s favour. Sam Hain, who had laboured over 70 balls for 18, edged one that held its line and Rhodes became a second catch at the wicket, a fine ball this which left him from around the wicket. Abbas celebrated gingerly, as if he feared an over-exuberant team-mate might stand on his foot.At lunch, Warwickshire still needed 101 with five wickets left and the addition of 17 in five overs invited the suspicion that they might up the tempo a tad. Hampshire returned to the left-arm medium of Keith Barker, Alsop immediately up to the stumps, and was rewarded when Burgess nicked a wide one and he held on capably.That turned out to be the end of Warwickshire’s challenge as the last five wickets tumbled in eight overs. Fuller nipped in again to have Danny Briggs leg before, Craig Miles patted a short ball from Dawson to first slip and left disconsolately, and Liam Norwell was run out by a hair’s breadth the first time that Lamb tried to keep the strike. Norwell dived into the crease to try to beat Dawson’s underarm throw and a video freeze frame suggested it was a brilliant decision by the umpire, James Middlebrook.Chemar Holder was brought in from Barbados on a short-term deal to take wickets, not to play his part in a miraculous 63-run stand for the last wicket. He made nought, a big drive at Wheal giving the wicketkeeper, Alsop, his fifth catch and Hampshire a victory that will take them to Taunton on Sunday in good heart.In all formats, they are proving to be a resilient bunch. James Vince, their captain, said: ”We didn’t know coming into today if Abbas could bowl, so it was great for him to come out and pick up those wickets for us. It was a massive effort from everyone, running in when we weren’t getting wickets and the scoreboard wasn’t going anywhere.”

After spending four weeks with Punjab Kings in the UAE, Markram feels conditions are easiest for batting in Abu Dhabi, and most difficult in Sharjah

Firdose Moonda11-Oct-2021South Africa’s batters will experience the best and the worst of run-scoring conditions in the UAE at the T20 World Cup, according to Aiden Markram. After spending the last four weeks with Punjab Kings in the UAE for the IPL, Markram has decided that conditions are easiest for batting in Abu Dhabi, and most difficult in Sharjah, but still tough across the venues.”Each ground was different. That was something I didn’t expect; I thought it would be quite generic. But each ground had its own set of challenges,” Markram said. “The pitches weren’t the easiest to bat on, but as the batter gets in he can still take the game away from the opposition. It’s tougher for newer batters coming in. Sharjah was probably the toughest batting wicket out of the three here, and Abu Dhabi was probably the nicest to bat on.”South Africa open the Super 12 stage of the competition against Australia in Abu Dhabi before moving to Dubai to play West Indies and then to Sharjah and back to Abu Dhabi, for two games against qualifiers, and conclude the pool stage against England in Sharjah. Though South Africa are entering the tournament on the back of three successive T20I series wins, only one of those – against West Indies in June – was against opposition they will face in this event.They have also lost to both Australia and England (twice) in T20I series in the Mark Boucher era and have historically tripped against both those teams in major tournaments. But Markram isn’t dwelling too much on all that. “We’re not bringing too much baggage into this World Cup. Everyone here is pretty free-spirited and not too fazed about being at a World Cup, in a good way. Everyone’s very calm so far,” he said.But there are ghosts around this squad. Eight of them – nine if you include reserve Andile Phehlukwayo – were part of the 2019 50-over World Cup, where South Africa turned in their worst major tournament result and were the first team to be eliminated.Aiden Markram played in the middle order for Punjab Kings in IPL 2021•BCCI

“Obviously we’ll try not to make the same mistakes that we did in 2019, but this is a different format and completely different conditions, and we’ve got a completely different side,” Markram said. “We haven’t had too many chats about that World Cup. In 2019, when conditions didn’t suit our plans, we almost didn’t have other plans to fall back on. That’s been addressed, and we’ve got a way of cricket we’d like to play against each team.”But if conditions on the day don’t allow for that we have to be smarter and have another plan to fall back on. Having the skill set to trust in that change of plan has been important. Over the last 12 to 18 months the team have up-skilled themselves. That’s probably the biggest thing we can take from the 2019 World Cup.”Markram is one of the best examples of that. Since the 2019 World Cup, he has shown marked improvement against spin, had his best tour of the subcontinent when South Africa toured Pakistan earlier this year, has established himself in white-ball cricket and earned his first IPL deal, which taught him about batting in a different position in the shortest format. “It was a great experience. I was in a less familiar role and it was nice to be exposed to that at a high standard of cricket, and to learn on the job,” Markram said.For South Africa, Markram has batted in the top three in nine out of 13 T20I innings, for Punjab Kings, he was at No. 4 or 5 five times in six innings. He found the main challenge of batting in the middle-order to be finding the balance between building an innings and taking on a finishing role. “Guys who consistently finish games well in terms of high strike rates and the ability to find the boundary having just walked to the crease is something I’ve got a new appreciation for,” Markram said. “Because if you walk in and a team is 30 for 3, and you need to build a partnership to get to something that’s half-defendable. Neither of those roles are easy.”Neither was the pressure of a tournament like the IPL. Punjab Kings finished sixth on the points table, after losing eight matches – three in this half of the competition. They also won three matches in this half and four of their six games were decided in the last over. “All our games were close. We would have liked to get over the line more times than we did,” Markram said, indicating that the experience would come in handy ahead of the T20 World Cup.”In T20 cricket, at a World Cup or domestic or international series, results come down to the last three overs if not the last ball. It was good to be exposed to that, because I’m sure games are going to go to the wire at the World Cup. It’s about dealing with that pressure in the moment when two to three balls could change the whole outcome of the game.”

Queensland captain confirms Khawaja will play in the Sheffield Shield final after last week’s fitness saga

Alex Malcolm25-Mar-2025Captain Marnus Labuschagne has confirmed that Usman Khawaja will play for Queensland in the Sheffield Shield final and believes last week’s public spat will high performance manager Joe Dawes will “improve his performance” rather than distract him.Khawaja, 38, has been the subject of an unusual media drama in the lead-up to the final after missing the last match of the regular season against South Australia at Karen Rolton Oval.Related

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Dawes spoke last Wednesday claiming Khawaja did not have any hamstring issues that they were aware of and said, “it’s just disappointing he didn’t play a game for Queensland when he had an opportunity to.”Queensland Cricket board member Ian Healy had also made strong comments on his SEN radio show saying, “It’s just this pick and choose mentality that has been evident in his later years that Queensland haven’t been happy with.”Khawaja fired back in an emotional and lengthy press conference, saying the accusations of him not having an injury were “categorically untrue” and that he was disappointed and disheartened by claims that he didn’t want to play for Queensland despite spending five days in Melbourne at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix while the Shield game was going on.Labuschagne confirmed that Khawaja would definitely play in the final at Karen Rolton Oval on Wednesday and was confident that Australia’s Test opener wouldn’t be distracted after a turbulent week.”No, not at all,” Labuschagne said at the captains’ pre-game press conference. “If anything, it’ll probably improve his performance. He just loves the big moments. He’s been an amazing player for a long time, so I don’t think he’s going to have any issues with going out there and performing at his best.”Queensland captain Marnus Labuschagne and South Australia captain Nathan McSweeney pose with the Sheffield Shield trophy•Getty Images

South Australia captain Nathan McSweeney, who was Khawaja’s opening partner for the first three Tests of the Border-Gavaskar series and is a former Queensland team-mate, said he had spoken to Khawaja in the lead-up to the final and expected him to perform well.”He wanted to see if he could get a tee time at Kooyonga,” McSweeney said. “So I did send him a cheeky text. But he’s all good. “He’s a professional player, has been for a long time now, and I think he’ll be definitely ready here tomorrow, and he’ll be a massive wicket for us.”Queensland’s staff put together a video of former Shield winning players sending their well wishes to the current team, which the squad watched on the big screen at Karen Rolton Oval before training on Tuesday.Labuschagne would not confirm Queensland’s final XI, but they will need to make at least one change from the side that drew with South Australia to accommodate Khawaja’s return. The concern for Queensland will be trying to take 20 wickets after claiming just 12 in four days last week, with Labuschagne taking four of them with his part-time medium pace.

How a drawn final is decided

In the event the Sheffield Shield final ends in a draw, the title will be decided on first-innings bonus points which are accrued across the first 100 overs.

Batting teams earn 0.01 of a bonus point for every run scored over 200 in the initial 100 overs; bowling sides get 0.1 of a bonus point for every wicket in the first 100 overs. For example, the batting side scores 350 all out in 90 overs they earn 1.5 points and the bowling side 1 point.

Should bonus points be tied and the match drawn, SA will win the Shield given they finished top of the ladder and earned hosting rights for the final.

“The wicket is probably not as hard as it was for last week’s game here,” he said. “I think there’s probably a little bit more moisture in it. The grass is probably a fraction longer. But obviously [curator] Trent [Kelly] hasn’t cut it yet, so we’ll have to wait and see whether that gets cut in the morning.”I think, all in all, last week would have been a really good cricket wicket for a five-day game. South Australia had us in a position where if they really wanted to try and win the game, they probably could have pushed down that route.”Even last week, on that wicket that was quite flat, there could have been a result. So I don’t think there’s going to be any problem with trying to get a result this game.”South Australia squad: Nathan McSweeney (capt), Jordan Buckingham, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Henry Hunt, Jake Lehmann, Ben Manenti, Nathan McAndrew, Conor McInerney, Harry Nielsen, Lloyd Pope, Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Henry ThorntonQueensland squad: Marnus Labuschagne (capt), Jack Clayton, Lachlan Hearne, Usman Khawaja, Angus Lovell, Ben McDermott, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Mark Steketee, Tom Straker, Mitchell Swepson, Callum Vidler, Jack Wildermuth

Netherlands captain Scott Edwards will lead Melbourne Renegades, with four other BBL clubs sending academy sides

Alex Malcolm07-Apr-2025

What is the T10 Melbourne Invitational?

It is an 11-day T10 tournament that will be played at the Junction Oval in Melbourne between April 7 and April 17. Five teams will play 20 T10 matches with two matches held each day. The top three teams will play in the finals on April 17. The second and third ranked after the round robin will play first and the winner will advance to face the top ranked team in the final later on the same day.

Which teams are playing?

Melbourne Stars, Melbourne Renegades, Sydney Sixers, Sydney Thunder and Adelaide Strikers have selected academy squads of 12-15 players to play a minimum of four games across the 11 days. Stars and Renegades are run by Cricket Victoria who are hosting the tournament. Cricket New South Wales runs both Sydney teams while Adelaide Strikers are run by the South Australian Cricket Association. The tournament has been approved by Cricket Australia.Australia Under-19 star Oliver Peake will play for Renegades in the T10 Invitational•ICC/Getty Images

What is the purpose of the tournament?

Cricket Victoria, led by their chief executive Nick Cummins, has been adventurous in stepping into the franchise sphere beyond functioning as an Australian state association. CV runs the high performance aspect of the San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket. Victoria also sent a team to the inaugural Global Super League in Guyana last year and made the final. Significantly, this T10 tournament has Indian backing and is broadcast into India.It is a forerunner to potentially hosting a T20 tournament that is akin to the T20 Max that is played in Queensland in August and September each year and has become a hub for fringe domestic players to get playing opportunities at the time of year. CV is also in the final phase of gaining approval to build light towers at the Junction Oval so that both international and domestic matches can be played there under lights. Such an addition would allow this tournament to be played at night, and in a better timezone for audiences in the subcontinent.

Are any big name player’s taking part?

There won’t be any big name Australian players representing their BBL clubs. Part of CV’s vision for the tournament is to provide extra playing opportunities for developing players beyond the Sheffield Shield, domestic 50-over cricket, the BBL and the Top End T20 series in the middle of the year.”This is a fantastic opportunity to continue providing important match experience to players right through to the end of the season,” Cummins said.One international name is Netherlands captain Scott Edwards who grew up in Melbourne and lives there part of the year. He has previously been a replacement player for Renegades in the BBL but has yet to play a BBL game for them.BBL regular Sam Harper will play for Melbourne Stars. Former Australian Under-19 players Harry Dixon and Oliver Peake will play for Renegades after making their BBL debuts last season. A number of Victoria players including Campbell Kellaway, Blake Macdonald, Sam Elliott and Xavier Crone are also set to feature while Sixers have selected Steve Waugh’s son Austin Waugh in their 12-man squad.

How can I watch?

The tournament can be watched in both Australia and India. It will be streamed in India via Fancode and can be viewed on Kayo in Australia, who stream all Australian domestic cricket and even some grade fixtures.

Squads

Adelaide Strikers Academy: Aidan Cahill, Hamish Case, Isaac Conway, Josh Kann, Ryan King, Harry Manenti, Deakin Murphy, Tim Oakley, Tom O’Connell, Hayden Schiller, Aubrey Stockdale, Jerrssis Wadia, Jake WinterMelbourne Renegades Academy: Harry Dixon, Dylan Brasher, Oliver Peake, Arjun Nair, Jai Lemire, Scott Edwards, Xavier Crone, Aryan Sharma, Jackson Smith, Michael Archer, Cam McClure, David Moody, Harkirat Bajwa, Mitch Jamieson, Aidam NadeemMelbourne Stars Academy: Austin Anlezark, Max Birthisel, Liam Blackford, Sam Elliott, Sam Harper, Harry Hoekstra, Christian Howe, Campbell Kellaway, Blake Macdonald, Reiley Mark, Jonathan Merlo, Tom Rogers, Douglas WarrenSydney Thunder Academy: Ryan Hicks, Toby Gray, Bailey Abela, Charlie Anderson, Yuvraj Sharma, Riley Kingsell, Peter Francis, Angus McTaggart, Blake Nikitaras, Riley Ayre, Connor O’Riordan, Liam DoddrellSydney Sixers Academy: Brock Fitton, Harjas Singh, Tristan Kennedy, Addison Sherriff, Austin Waugh, John James, Lachlan Shaw, Connor Cook, Jake Scott, Joel Davies, Ryan Gupta, Oliver Patterson

The Royals captain will remain in Jaipur and will continue his rehab with the franchise’s medical staff

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Apr-202527:55

Gut feel or analytics? How tactical decisions are made during T20s

Rajasthan Royals (RR) will be without captain Sanju Samson for their away match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Thursday. This is the second successive IPL 2025 match that Samson will miss after suffering an abdominal injury during RR’s Super Over defeat to Delhi Capitals (DC).”Samson is currently undergoing recovery and will remain at the team’s home base (Jaipur) with select RR medical staff,” the franchise said in a statement. “As part of his ongoing rehab process, he will not be travelling to Bangalore for the upcoming match against RCB. The team management is monitoring his progress closely and will take a game-by-game approach regarding his return to action.”Related

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In Samson’s absence, Riyan Parag will continue to captain RR. Earlier during the tournament, Parag had also stood in as captain when Samson was recovering from the finger injury he had sustained during the T20I series against England. As captain, Parag has 105 runs in four games at a strike rate of 147.88Samson had started the tournament as a pure batter with 66 off 37 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad and continued to get starts. In his last game against DC, he scored 31 off 19 balls before retiring hurt. He did not return to bat in the Super Over.In Samson’s absence, 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who enjoyed a sparkling debut, will likely open with Yashasvi Jaiswal once again in Bengaluru.